Driving Health Hack! Quick Fix to Knee and Leg Pain While Driving

Driving is an unavoidable part of life but it can lead to annoying pain and injuries. Here's one quick fix while driving that can help avoid some of that pain, at least along the knee and hip chain.

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[RobPetty]

I have struggled with this for years when I drove between Chicago and St. Louis. I would get out of the car and hop around unable to bear weight on the leg. I just googled “Inner knee pain while driving” and your video popped up. Know I know what not to do and how to reposition my foot. Thank you!

[sasukesarutobi]

Personally, I'd say to have your heel a couple of inches to the left of where you showed, but you are absolutely correct. My driving instructor always taught me to use the ball of my foot for the brake, and the toes for the accelerator, as it not only helps you mitigate knee problems, but also lets you use the pedals more sensitively.

[cristinacarmona]

I love how you shared your own story and show what you were doing wrong. before watching your video I felt like I was the only dummy with knee pain for driving. Thanks

[cjgonzalez]

Now if you help me from cussing at stupid people driving on the road.😁

[MatthewMonaco]

I've been driving like this for close to 10 years and only caused me discomfort the last week or 2. Thanks a lot man :)

[michellepryer]

I've been saying this for years but did not know how to reposition the foot. Thanks so much.

[leonardopab]

Hello everyone, I hope my comment below helps people experiencing knee pain from driving:

I started having severe knee pain as well 3 weeks from now, since I changed my car to a smaller Corolla. Let me break down:

1. Problem: What I noticed it is possibly the bigger issue in my case is the lack of thigh support since the seat is too short. The weight of my leg is resting on the knee and not on the seat. Also, the distance from the pedals is longer, so I have to move my foot and legs up/down and also sideways. Another problem that I am having is the internal hip rotation to enter the car. Since the steering wheel is low and near the seat, I was rotating my right leg internally so that my leading foot would reach the gas pedal mat area before I bring my left foot. These movements all together are putting a lot of stress in my ligaments and cartilage.

2. Solution: I liked the tip from the video and surely it solves most of the problems. I am moving the knees and hip too much when I should be moving only my foot. However, in order to be able to press the gas and break properly, I must have the right support for the legs, so that my distance to the pedals can be fixed. Therefore, I bough a seat extender to rest the weight of my legs, and also a pedal extender to level both pedals in the same distance. I also bought cushions for lumbar support (and height), and cushion pads for the "fine tune", to support any movement that I might still feel off.

Also make sure that the shoes you are wearing are comfortable and not worn out as well. It may play a huge role in the way that you press the pedals or in your knee health as a whole.

A quick tip: usually, the ideal position for the knees is when its height is more or less aligned with the hip. Some times, this simple fix solves the problem. If your car seat does not allow for the proper alignment adjustments, you can buy cushions on Amazon that you can play with.

And by the way, hinged knee braces can help a lot managing the knee stability, along with strengthening of the body and legs.

For all you that are suffering with this, I hope you fix the problem and heal soon. If you have any questions please let me know.

[yongwei]

Thanks! This is exactly what I need. I've been doing this to my left knee without realising

[douggreg]

Yeah, I used to do this when I started driving, I'm 6'4 and after a month my right knee was killing me.

[huntproject]

I drove 10 and 1/2 hours Monday and Friday. Today the back of my right leg is killing me and i can hardly walk on it. This explains it

[singhvikas]

It was suggested to have your foot at an angle for the gas pedal to have better switching control between brake and gas, but in my recent trips i noticed with this method I developed pain in my knee and hence here, re-learning never hurts :) I will try this method see if this works well for my knee and my car control.

[grimmyboss]

I'm having pain because of this. Thank you

[Mickiwalk]

This is really good! I used to have knee problems from driving, too. If you care to expand, I'd love to see a video on how to adjust car seats to keep the body in alignment. Great work!

[JackChurchill]

Amazing - something I would have never thought about.

[diamanteification]

I drove 1200 miles with rest when needed but still straight through. And using cruise control a lot of the way. But my knee didn't start to hurt until the last 4 hours of my 20 hour trip. When I got home I couldn't bend my Knee for hours. Today I drove for 6 hours and my knee started acting up again I love driving so hope this helps thanks.

[niasofly]

I’ll have to try this. I tend to have a lot of knee pain especially since I tore my meniscus. I drive exactly how you said not to. 🥴

[robertsimpson]

makes sense. Thought I needed hip surgery.

[rkede]

I have had off and on inside pain on my right knee for decades and today I just had a thought about exactly what you said in this video. I started correcting it before I watched the video but now I will really try to correct this. I sure hope it works. I've also had some left shoulder/arm pain for a good while because I always use that arm for steering. I'm trying to correct that too. Thanks.

[coreartalex]

If you have a magic trick for faster eliminate cramps while driving would be awesome! .... Loved this vid.

[pianostar]

Sometimes I do put my foot straight forward on the gas (to floor it on some occasions) and then I pivot my foot to the left on the brake at a 315 degree angle, depending how much fun I enjoy driving. But mainly, I usually pivot my right foot straight forward on the brake and then I curve it to the right on the gas at a 45 degree angle while driving for the most part.